Stay for press-mats.



No. 806,334. PATENTED DEG.5,1905.

A. W. FRENCH L J; HAUBNSTBIN.

STAY FOR PRESS MATS.v APPLIoATIoN FILED SEPT. ,y 14904. Y

l Hilll H Il Il Il l m n all III f UNITED sTATEs- PATENT oFFrcE.

`ALFRED W. FRENCH, OF PIQA, OHIO, AND JOHN HAUENSTEIN,` OF BUF- FALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO THE FRENCH OIL MILL MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PIQUA, OHIO.

'STAY' Fora` PRESS-MATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented bee. 5, v1905.

Application filed September 8,1904. Serial Nor 223,770.

/Tov a/ZZ whm/ it' may concern,.-

Be it known that we, ALFRED W. FRENCH, residing at Piqua, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, and JOHN HAUENsTEIN, residing 5 at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, citizens of the United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Stays for'Press-Mats, of which the following is a specification.

Io This invention relates to stays or means employed in presses for expressing oils to hold the press-mats from spreading and y breaking under the strains to which they are subjectedv in the operation of the presses.

In operating oil-presses the oil cakes -or molded masses of ground Voil -bearing meal from which the oil is to be expressed are enveloped in press-cloths and withthese envelops.

placed in the press. The press-plates of many kinds of presses are provided with thick elastic or yielding and pervious mats between which the cakes are placed to insure an' even equal pressure to all portions of the cake and provide for the drainage of the oil'therefrom. These mats are ordinarily made of horsehair on account of its strength andelasticity and are expensive and notwithstanding their strength are spread out of shape, distorted, and broken in a comparatively short time under lthe very' heavy strains to which they are subjected in use. It has been proposed to prevent such spreading and breaking of the mats by pro'- viding the press-plates with projections or interposing wire fabric or-netting between they press-plate and mat, the projections of the press plate or wire fabric being intended to sink into the mat under pressure and hold the same intact. Neither of these lmethods is satisfactory. If the projections' are cast or forged onthe press-plates, they will necessarily be wide and low and will bear against the surface strands or hairs of the mat and tend to spread and break the same. Cast plates are also objectionable, as'they are frequently broken in the presses, and forged plates are expensive. To provide a steel plate with separately attached projections of sufficiently small size to enter between the strands of the mat without breaking or spreading them is an expensive operation and projections on the heavy press-plates, however made, are readily broken in shipping and handling the plates.

Another important consideration is that mills Y already equipped with press-plates will not undertake the expense of supplying pressplates with-the projections. The wire fabric or netting stay is objectionable because the projections thus afforded, like those formed on the press-plates, do not enter in between the strands of the mat, but cross and pr'essl against the surface strands of the mat, which are thus broken. i

The object of this'invention is to provide an efficient practical stay for the purpose stated which avoids the objections above noted, is of simple and inexpensive construction, and can lbe supplied at small cost to presses already equipped with press-plates.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is l a sectionshowing two adjacent press-plates and mats provided with stays embodying the invention. FigfQV is 'a broken plan view of one ofthe plates, mats, and stays. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the stay shownin Figs. l and'2. Fig. 4 is a similar view ofva 'mat-stay of modified construction.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts vin the several figures.

A represents the press-plates' of-fa press, which maybe of any usual form, 'and B the vpress-mats between which the-oil cake is placedand pressed.y These mats 'are lordinarily made of horsehair woven in such manner that the larger part of the strands or hairs composing' the mat or all of the surface strands or hairs run in one direction or substantially parallel with one edge of the mat.

' C represents the stays or devices for holding the mats intact and preventing them from spreading and breaking when subjected to pressure in the press. The stay consists of a thin plate orvsheet of metal or analogous thin material of substantially the same shape and size or somewhat larger than the mat, having on one side numerous slender prongs or projections which penetrate the' body of the mat entering between the strands or hairs thereof. made in different ways and give good results. For instance, as shown inFig's. 1 to 3, they are formed by stamping or punching up integral pointed portions o from the metal stay-plate. From'Fig. 2 it will be seen that' the prongs or projections are so disposed relative to the mat that their flat sides are parallel with the direction of the surface strands or hairs of The prongs or projectionscan be4 IOO the mat, so that they can extend into the mat between the strands thereof without spreading the strands to any appreciable extent. They present broad straight upright faces to the strands, thus preventing the same from slipping over or past the projections and spreading, whereby the danger of rupturing the strands is minimized.

In the construction shown in Fig. 4 the prongs or projections c' are formed by short straight nails inserted through holes in the stay-plate. These nails are retained in an upright position in any suitable waymfor instance, by their heads, which are preferably broad and fiat and whichV are held firmly between the stay-plate and the press-plate. If desired, the nails can be soldered or otherwise secured to the stay-plate. The nails, like the projections shown in the other figures, will readily enter the mat without appreciably spreading the strands, and they offer upright sides, which hold the strands from slipping and spreading under pressure. The nails being smooth and round will not cut or break the strands or hairs of the mat. One of the staysis placed between each mat and the adjacent press-plate and is preferably secured in place by the usual fastening wires or devices l employed for securing the mats on the press-plates.

Stays constructed as described can be produced and supplied to mills at small cost. They will not spread, break, or cut the strands or hairs of the mats, but will positively hold the same intact and prevent the spreading, distortion, and breaking of the mats when under pressure, thus being free from the stated objections to known contrivances intended for a similar purpose.

We claim as our invention- 1. Astay for press-mats, comprising a plate or body which is separate from and adapted to be placed between the press-plate and the press-mat, and has slender projections which penetrate the press-mat between the strands thereof, substantially as set forth.

2. A stay for press-mats, comprisingaplate or body which is separate from and adapted to be placed between the press-plate and the press-mat, and has projections which penetrate the press-mat between the strands thereof and have upright sides to engage and hold the strands of the mat from spreading, substantially as set forth.

3. Astay for press-mats, comprising a plate or body which is separate from the press-plate and against which the press-mat is placed, and which has projections which penetrate the mat between the surface strands thereof and are slender in a direction transversely of such surface strands whereby the latter are not spread or broken by said projections, substantially as set forth.

4. A stay for press-mats, comprising a plate or body which is separate from andis placed between the press-plate and the press-mat, and has slender projections which extend perpendicularly from the face thereof and engage the press-mat to prevent the spreading thereof, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 19th day of August,

ALFRED W. FRENCH. Witnesses:

JOHN HA UENSTEIN. VVitnesse-s:

E. C. HARD, C. B. HoRNBnoK. 

